Match Made in Heaven - Sequel to Saving Hermione
by LauraWeasley87
Summary: Sequel to Saving Hermione. Can Hermione Granger rebuild her life with the help of her friends after being abused by Ron? However trouble was about to brew once again for the wizarding world but this time Lord Voldemort had nothing to do with it nor was it anything the Boy-Who-lived-Harry-Potter and his faithful friends could fight.
1. Chapter 1 - Bombshell Dropped

**_NOTE: Please read Saving Hermione before you read this story as this is the sequel!_**

 _The wizarding world was just recovering from the defeat of Lord Voldemort and were trying to rebuild their lives while grieving for the loved ones they lost because of Voldemort and his nasty followers, the Death Eaters. Ron Weasley, who helped defeat Lord Voldemort alongside his two best friends; Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, was suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had been abusing his now ex-girlfriend Hermione. He had been sentenced to a year in Azkaban prison then would be staying in a special ward in St Mungos after. Hermione had originally gone to live at Shell Cottage with Ginny, Fred and George in a bid to stay away from Ron but moved back to the burrow with the Weasley family after Ron got sentenced. However trouble was about to brew once again for the wizarding world but this time Lord Voldemort had nothing to do with it nor was it anything the Boy-Who-lived-Harry-Potter and his faithful friends could fight._

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Chapter 1 – Bombshell Dropped

It had been a week since Fred and Hermione had admitted their feelings for one another but they decided to keep everything quiet for fear of feeling the wrath of their family. Hermione thought this was best as she was still a bit confused as to how she really did feel about Fred, nor did she want to rush straight into another relationship straight away. Yes, she did really like Fred but obviously she was worried. Plus she had her secret task of finding her parents to focus on.

Hermione, Fred and George had all moved back to the burrow days after Ron's trial as he had been sent to Azkaban. Arthur Weasley had just appeared in the kitchen of the burrow looking slightly flustered, as he pushed his glassed onto his nose properly. All the family were there except for Ron obviously. Bill had gathered the others around the kitchen table as Arthur desperately wanted to talk to the four of them.

"What's up Dad?" Ginny asked, casually as she sat down at the table.  
"Something wrong?" Bill asked.  
"It's the Ministry." Arthur spoke.  
"It hasn't fallen again, has it?" Fred questioned.  
"Has something happened to Kingsley?" George asked.  
"No it hasn't fallen and nothing has happened to Kingsley." Arthur replied.  
"Well do tell us then." Fred urged.

Arthur took a deep breath. What he was about to tell his children, Molly, Harry and Hermione was not going to be easy.

"The Ministry are bringing out a new law, next week." Arthur spoke.  
"What sort of law?" Bill questioned, placing a hand on Fleur's shoulder.

Fleur had just announced that she was pregnant with her and Bill's first child which was due in May.

"This cannot be good, whatever it is." George commented.  
"A marriage law." Arthur spat out, not actually wanting to say those words.  
"A what, sorry?" Fred questioned.  
"A marriage law." Arthur repeated.  
"And what exactly is that?" George asked, sounding confused.  
"Basically every witch and wizard between the age of 17 and 35 will be partnered with someone that the Ministry feel suitable and will be forced to marry them, then have children with them within a set time limit." Arthur explained.  
"WHAT IN MERLIN?" Ginny shrieked in a high pitched voice.  
"They can't do that!" Fred shouted, causing Hermione to jump.  
"Can you all just calm down a minute and listen to Dad." Bill pleaded to his siblings.  
"Bill you're obviously exempt from this since you're already married." Arthur spoke.

"What about those of us already in relationships?" Ginny questioned.  
"Unfortunately that will be completely up to the Ministry." Arthur replied cautiously. "I'm sorry."  
"There's not a hope in hell that I'll be breaking up with Harry!" Ginny spat, her face turning red.  
"Well failure to comply with the Ministry will result in your wand being snapped and maybe even a stint in Azkaban." Arthur stated.  
"That's so stupid, Dad. They can't force us to marry someone we don't know or like and then force us to have kids with them." Ginny shrieked, shuddering at the thought. "It's against our rights."  
"They can't really do this, Mr Weasley, can they?" Hermione asked, speaking for the first time.  
"Unfortunately they can, Hermione. Too many precious lives were lost during the war and they're scared of magical blood running out and scared that too many kids will turn out to be squibs." Arthur answered.  
"So they want us to marry someone, some random person just so they can keep magical blood from dying out?" Fred questioned.  
"Something like that." Arthur answered.  
"And do we get any say in the matter? It is our futures after all?" George asked.  
"Well, as far as I know you can appeal for your partners to be changed." Arthur answered.  
"You'd have to have a very good case though." Bill added.

"How exactly are they pairing people off?" Fred asked.  
"I honestly have no idea how they are doing it all. I shouldn't even know about the law yet. Kingsley would go mad if he knew I told you all." Arthur answered.  
"Will you keep us updated when you find out more information?" Bill asked.  
"Yes of course I will. The others already know too but please don't be telling anyone else." Arthur warned. "And please don't be doing anything stupid."

Arthur couldn't tell his sons, Ginny, Hermione and Fleur anything else as he didn't know anything more. He thought this new law was completely stupid and uncalled for. He did trust Kingsley and hoped his boss knew what he was doing but Arthur also knew that 101 things could go wrong with this new law. He knew that people could kick off and attack the Ministry. It could easily start an uprising against the Ministry. Many of the Ministry workers had loudly voiced their concerns over the new law, especially those who had sons or daughters who would be forced to marry people because of it. Kingsley and his team were not very popular within the Ministry at that moment in time.

"I've got to go back to work. I'll see you all later." Arthur spoke.

He stepped outside the cottage and disappeared in a crack leaving his family completely speechless and shocked.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Aftermath

Chapter 2 – The Aftermath

"What was that all about?" Bill wondered, running a hand through his long ginger hair.  
"Did Dad just tell us that the Ministry are going to pair us off with some random chick and we'll have to marry her and then have kids with her?" George asked. "Or did I get hit very hard on the head with a bludger?"  
"No he did tell us that George." Fred answered. "Worst bloody luck."  
"See if I don't get matched with Harry, there will be hell to pay!" Ginny snapped.  
"If anyone is going to be paired with the love of their life, it'll be Harry. He's the chosen one after all." Fred replied.  
"He'll be the first one they'll pair. I'll bet you anything." George added.  
"And if they pick someone completely different?" Ginny questioned.  
"Then you appeal." George simply answered. "But since you are dating Harry, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about since its Harry and they wouldn't want to upset the famous boy who lived."  
"They're not going to give me special treatment." Harry spoke for the first time.

"I shouldn't have to fight to marry the love of my life!" Ginny stated.  
"None of us should, Gin." Hermione spoke. "We've got to have some rights in this."  
"Are you going to go look it up?" Ginny asked.  
"I could do but I wouldn't really know where to start." Hermione answered, sadly.  
"Wizarding laws would be a great place to start." George suggested. "Surely there's something about marriage law in one of your many books."  
"I'll have a look later. Ginny could you maybe give me a hand?" Hermione asked.  
"Yes. I'll do anything if it means I won't have to marry some scumbag I hate." Ginny answered, sounding very angry.  
"Bill, have you ever heard of a marriage law before?" Fred asked his older brother.  
"I did have to do a little bit about it in History of Magic once but you know what those classes are like, dead boring so I didn't really pay much attention." Bill answered.  
"I don't think even Hermione paid attention in that class." Ginny laughed. Her anger subsiding slightly.  
"Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't." Hermione answered.  
"Is there any way we can stand against this?" Fred asked.  
"Probably not but it wouldn't surprise me if it all kicked off again." Bill answered. "No one is going to agree to it. There will be an uproar."  
"Unless they get paired with someone they're already dating or like." George added.  
"I'd like to think the Ministry would be sensible about the thing and put a lot of thought into who they pair together." Bill said.  
"You two are so lucky that you're both exempt from it." George sighed, referring to Bill and Fleur.

Hermione had been extremely quiet, appearing to be deep in thought, running her finger repeatedly around the rim of her glass of water.

"Hermione, love are you alright?" Fred asked.  
"Yes, I guess I'm just in shock about the news that's all." Hermione answered, still looking at her glass. "It's one thing after another at the moment. We've just defeated you-know-who, then there's the issue with Ron and now this."  
"The Ministry shouldn't be doing this at all. It's not fair." Bill complained. "It's not fair on all of you, who shouldn't be forced into marriage so soon."  
"And we have to have kids as well. We're all too young." Ginny stated. "What about those of us who are going back to Hogwarts in a few weeks?"  
"I wish I had all the answers guys but I only know what Dad told us all." Bill answered. "But I will try and help you all the best I can, that I can promise you. I won't be standing by and watching my siblings marrying people they don't like."  
"I hope we won't have to fight. I've had enough fighting to last me a life time." Hermione said with a defeated sigh.  
"I didn't have you down as one not to fight for what you believe in, Mione." Ginny spoke.  
"It's not that, Gin. It's the fact that I've had to fight for what I believe in, fight to be accepted in this world since I was 11 years old and I'm just fed up with it all." Hermione admitted. "It's like the Ministry are taking a step back, rather than trying to help people get their lives back on track."

Molly began to tear up at Hermione's words. She had managed to keep herself composed throughout the whole thing but knowing that her children were going to be forced to marry someone they maybe didn't like, broke her heart. This was one battle she knew she couldn't help her children win. She would, however support her children in every single way she could and if they wanted to fight then she'd fight alongside them. Molly knew out of all of them, Hermione probably had it the hardest being muggle-born. She was constantly put down and bullied by her peers, being called a filthy mudblood and a know it all, amongst other things. Then there was the abuse she had suffered at the hands of Ron which she was slowly recovering from. Ron was now in Azkaban and she was trying her hardest to rebuild her live and move on from what Ron had done.

"Will Ron be included in this new law?" George asked, bringing up Ron's name for the first time that day.  
"I don't know about that actually. There will be quite a few death eaters within the age range too. I guess that will be completely down to the Ministry." Bill answered.  
"Heaven help the poor girl paired with Ron or any of the death eaters." Fred said.  
"What if they pair Ron with me?" Hermione shrieked.  
"They won't do that. They all know what he did to you so they wouldn't dare pair you two together." Bill answered.  
"Look there is no point speculating about this until we find out more about it." Molly stated, pulling herself together.


	3. Chapter 3 - Worry

Chapter 3 – Worry

Hermione Granger appeared to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was still trying to get over her abuse from Ron which she knew would take a lot of time. She still had the effects of the war to get over too but the healing process would take a long time. Hermione was having the odd nightmare about Voldemort and the war. Sometimes Bellatrix would appear in her nightmares, as would Ron. Sometimes they were working as a team, both trying to hurt her and torture her. Fred appeared in her dreams too, as her knight in shining armour, always there to save her life or protect her. Not that Hermione felt she needed protecting, she was more than capable of looking after herself. Although in her nightmares, she always struggled to defend herself or couldn't at all.

Now Hermione had the added worry about the new marriage law which the Ministry were introducing. She would be paired with someone and would be forced to not only marry but have kids with the person. She had no control over her future and she did not like this at all. Hermione always knew what she wanted in life, she had a plan. She'd finish school first then get settled in a good, decent paying job then she'd think about settling down and having kids. Obviously her main priority was wanting to find her parents and already they had been tracked down in Perth Australia. However there had been no new news from the Ministry regarding the search for her parents and her hope was slowly sliding.

Hermione had thought long and hard about her future and even thought about applying to attend a muggle University at one point but as she didn't have any muggle qualifications she was unable to apply. Ideally Hermione wanted to get married first and then have children but she did not want to get married before she turned 20 and she certainly did not want to get married to someone she did not like or know. Another thought struck her as she sat down by her favourite oak tree in the burrow garden, what if she was paired with Ron? She would be forced to marry someone who had abused her, physically and mentally abused her. The Ministry knew what Ron had did to her and had sent him to Azkaban because of it. Surely they wouldn't pair Hermione with Ron? Hermione could not marry Ron, she just couldn't. She felt sick at the thought of it. She'd sooner marry Malfoy over Ron and that was saying something.

Hermione picked a daisy out of the grass and began picking the petals off it one by one. She looked up when she heard footsteps. She should have known she wouldn't have been alone for long. Fred began walking towards her, his hands deep in his pockets. There was no sign of his trademark smile on his handsome face. This time it was painted with worry.

"I thought I'd find you out here." Fred spoke.  
"I just needed to get out of the house. I felt kind of claustrophobic." Hermione answered.  
"Mind if I join you?" Fred asked.  
"Of course." Hermione answered.

She knew that Fred would not pester her or annoy her in any way so she did not mind being around Fred. Actually Hermione enjoyed being in Fred's company, especially after the events the previous week. Their shared kisses were still very much fresh on both their minds. Fred hadn't pushed Hermione to date him so they just enjoyed spending some time together, finding out more about one another.

"Are you alright?" Fred asked her.  
"Not really, if I'm being honest." Hermione admitted.  
"Marriage law?" Fred asked.  
"Yes, like we need to worry about that on top of everything else." Hermione answered, throwing the daisy back onto the grass.  
"We really don't need this at all, especially you. You'd think the Ministry would have more sense than to put all of us through this at this time. We've only just came out of a war for crying out loud." Fred ranted. "People need to recover properly, rebuild their lives, grieve for the people they lost and there's people like Lupin and Tonks who are still ill in hospital."  
"You're completely right, Fred. It's not fair and the worst thing is, we're not in control of our future any more. We don't get the chance to fall in love, fall out of love, make mistakes and find the person we want to spend the rest of our lives with. That decision is being made for us." Hermione said. "Love is something that should happen naturally."  
"I completely agree with that too, Mione." Fred answered. "And we're all too young too."  
"I always imagined that I'd get married in my late 20's, early 30's and then have kids, not before I turn 20." Hermione said. "I'm not mature enough to be a mother."  
"To be fair, you did look after Ron and Harry for about 7 years. If you can look after them, you're more than capable than looking after a kid." Fred said.  
"What if I get paired with Ron?" Hermione blurted out.  
"That thought had crossed my mind." Fred admitted. "But they do know what he did to you so they'd be pretty darn stupid to even allow him to marry."  
"I can't marry him Fred. I just can't." Hermione cried. "But he'll have to be part of it though since he's pure blood."

Fred quickly wrapped a supportive arm around Hermione's shoulders, letting her cry into his shirt as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm in a bid to calm her down.

"We need to try and stay positive, Mione. I know it's going to be hard after everything that has happened but if we don't, we'll go mental." Fred stated.  
"Fred, I can't marry someone I don't love and I don't want to even think about having to have kids with them." Hermione shrieked. "It's not good to bring a child into the world to parents who don't love each other."  
"Will you appeal if you get someone you don't know?" Fred asked.  
"Yes I will. I won't be sitting back and doing nothing about it. I know I said I didn't want to fight but this is the one part of my life, I want full control over. I want to decide for myself who I want to marry and when I want marry them, not when some Ministry fool decides for me." Hermione ranted.  
"That's more like the Hermione I know." Fred grinned.  
"I didn't think I had any fight left in me Fred, but now that I've thought about it, I will fight if I have too. We've all got to make a stand regarding this. There are going to be a lot of very unhappy people when this law comes out." Hermione replied.  
"It'll all kick off again." Fred answered.  
"I honestly thought Kingsley was better than this. I seriously thought he had all of our best interests at heart but maybe we we're wrong." Hermione said.  
"I always had a lot of time and respect for Kingsley. Now I'm not so sure. This will lose him a lot of fans." Fred answered.

"We could start a petition and see how many signatures we get and give it to the Ministry." Hermione suggested.  
"That could possibly work." Fred answered.  
"We'd need a lot of signatures though but I'm sure we could get them." Hermione spoke. "Obviously we'll need to wait and see what the law entitles when it officially comes out."  
"And see who we're all paired with. We might get paired with really cool people." Fred answered.  
"Yes well that could happen and that would sort of be good but we all still want to choose who we fall in love with and marry at the end of the day." Hermione answered.  
"What would you do if you were paired with me?" Fred asked.

Hermione was surprised at what Fred had just asked her. She did not know what to say to Fred. What did she say to him? Yes she liked Fred a lot and had already admitted to fancying him but this was marrying him, spending the rest of her life with him and even having children with him.

"I...I don't really know Fred, if I'm being honest." Hermione stuttered, trying to find the correct words.  
"I'd be better than Ron, right?" Fred asked, nudging her playfully.  
"Yes." Hermione replied. Then again she'd take Malfoy over Ron and that was saying something.  
"Harry and Ginny are already discussing getting engaged so they can get out of being paired with other people. Mum doesn't think it'll work. I think it might because of who Harry is." Fred said.  
"It could work. We're not supposed to know about the law yet so if they got engaged before we officially find out then they'll be fine." Hermione replied.  
"Then we could get engaged. I know it sounds absolutely mental but at least we'd be both marrying someone we know and like." Fred stated as though a light bulb had appeared above his head.  
"That is a mental idea Fred, crazy almost." Hermione replied but she didn't want to admit that the thought had actually crossed her mind.  
"Hermione, look, you know how I feel about you. I'd hate it if you were paired with someone else, except maybe George. I don't want to be paired with some random woman." Fred stated.  
"What are you trying to say, Fred?" Hermione asked.  
"Marry me, Mione?" Fred asked.  
"I can't Fred. The Ministry know that I haven't had any relations with any of you so they'll know we're lying. We could get into serious trouble for that." Hermione answered.  
"I forgot about that." Fred said with a defeated sigh.  
"As much as I'd like to say yes we can't. We can't risk getting into serious trouble." Hermione sniffed.  
"I'm actually really worried Mione, really worried about this." Fred confessed.  
"I am too Fred. I just want us all to have some normality for a while, get over the horrible things that has happened to us and live our lives to the full without some big drama." Hermione said.  
"Me too, me too." Fred agreed then hugged Hermione tightly.


	4. Chapter 4 - The News

**_Note: If you don't like my stories or the way I write my characters please don't bother reading my stories or even better don't bother sending me anon abuse. If you do have anything to say about my stories then have the guts to say it without doing it on anon which imo is the cowards way out, especially if you feel the need to send me nasty abuse._**

 ** _However I do appreciate reviews and comments on my stories that aren't ripping me and my stories to shreads. Constrictive critism makes me a better writer._**

 **Chapter 4 – The News**  
Several long days had passed since Arthur Weasley had dropped the bombshell that the Ministry of Magic was bringing out a Marriage Law. All of his children were still reeling about this news and discussed the topic a lot over the next few days. There was a lot of speculation about what the law would entitle and who would be paired with who. A lot of questions were asked too but no one had the answers to the questions. Hermione had spent hours pouring over her large collection of books to see if she could find anything about a previous marriage law but none of her books proved useful. Even her History of Magic books.

"There has to be a loophole of some sort." She moaned after throwing another book onto the pile.  
"I don't think you'll find anything in those books, Hermione." Ginny stated.  
"I'm looking in the wrong place?" Hermione asked.  
"Well, if I were you, I'd look for books on Wizarding Laws or Laws passed by the Ministry of Magic." Ginny suggested.  
"I don't think I have anything on those." Hermione answered.  
"Are you trying to tell me that thee Hermione Granger doesn't have a book on something?" Ginny questioned, pretending to look shocked.  
"Surprisingly no. When I moved to the burrow last year, I only packed the books I thought I'd really need and Wizarding laws weren't really the topic I thought I'd need, other than Muggle-born rights." Hermione answered. "The rest were all taken to Florish and Blotts."  
"Why don't we take a trip to the book shop tomorrow and see what all they have?" Fred suggested.  
"Yes that would be a really good idea." Hermione replied. "The Hogwarts library would be handy right about now."  
"When in doubt, Hermione goes to the library." Ginny laughed.

Hermione picked the cushion off the chair she was sat on and chucked it in Ginny's direction. Ginny caught it with ease and tossed it back to Hermione.

"Now, now ladies." Fred warned. "Mum will not be happy with you both messing up the house."  
"Or ruining those expensive designer cushions." George chortled.

As they all laughed and chatted in the living room, a tawny owl flew in the open window, landing on the coffee table with five cream parchment envelopes attached to it.

"Oh this doesn't look good." Ginny shrieked as Fred pulled the letters from the owl and put a knut in its pouch.  
"They're from the Ministry and are for us five." Fred stated. "Well me, George, Ginny, Harry and Hermione."  
"Will we get our pairings now?" Fred wondered.  
"Probably not today." Charlie answered, entering the living room.  
"We better open them and see." Hermione said.  
"Why didn't you get one, Charlie?" George wondered.  
"Dad thinks I'll be exempt because of me living in Romania." Charlie replied.  
"Lucky bugger if you are exempt." George said.

They all began ripping open their letters, tension filling the little living room. Charlie watched on with baited breath. He did not envy the others at all but he did feel very sorry for them while thanking his lucky stars that he was supposedly exempt from the marriage law.

"Well?" He asked.

 _"Dear Mr Fred Weasley,  
Firstly I would like to thank you for your help and support during the war. I am very pleased to hear that you are recovering well. Unfortunately due to the war, we lost a lot of lives, a lot of precious magical blood was spilt. So we here at the Ministry have decided to enforce a new Marriage Law._

 _Any witch or wizard who is unmarried between the age of 17 and 35 will be sent a letter stating their match which has been specially chosen for you by the Ministry. As you are 20 years of age this will include you. You must marry within the next year and have children with this person within the next three years. Parings can be appealed at the Ministry but the likelihood that the appeal will be accepted is slim. Failure to comply with this new law will result in your wand being snapped and you will be sent to Azkaban for a year. Your letters will be posted by owl within the next few days._ __

_Thank you Kingsley Shaklebolt_  
 _Minster of Magic"_ Fred read out to the others.

"Are all your letters the same?" Charlie asked.  
"Something similar." Ginny replied.  
"This is insane, they can't do that to us. They just can't." George ranted.  
"It's against our rights!" Fred snapped.  
"I can't believe they're actually going ahead with this." Ginny complained.  
"This is actually happening, isn't it?" Hermione asked fear evident in her voice.  
"Unfortunately it is." Charlie answered.

No sooner had they opened their letters, had Mrs Weasley appeared as she was out doing some grocery shopping with Fleur.

"Did you all get your letters?" She asked everyone.  
"Yes we did. We've just received them." Ginny answered.  
"Charlie didn't get one though." George said.  
"That is probably because you've been living in Romania." Molly answered.  
"I've been here since the start of this year though so I thought I was going to be included." Charlie answered.  
"Let's just say, your father and I are not too happy with Kingsley at the moment." Molly stated. "We thought he had more sense than to do this to you all after everything you've all been through."  
"I wonder if Ron will be included." Charlie wondered.  
"I haven't heard anything about Ron or the other people who are in Azkaban at the moment. Hopefully Arthur will know something." Molly answered. "Percy's attitude really surprised me earlier. He went on a full blown rant about how the Ministry couldn't do this and how Fudge would never have done this and that Kingsley doesn't know what he's doing."  
"He does have a point." Fred pointed out. "Not the part about Fudge right enough."  
"He actually stormed out of a meeting yesterday because of it all." Molly informed the others.  
"Percy Weasley stormed out of a meeting at work?" George asked, trying his best not to laugh.  
"Our rule abiding, Ministry loving, brother, Percy Weasley?" Fred questioned.  
"How many other Percy Weasleys do you know?" Molly snapped.  
"Sorry. We were only trying to lighten the mood." Fred apologised.  
"Look I've got to dash. I just popped in to leave the shopping in then I'm going to visit Andromeda Tonks." Molly stated. "Could some of you put away the shopping for me?"  
"I'll do that for you, Mrs Weasley." Hermione offered.  
"Please dear, call me Molly." Molly urged.  
"Sorry. I guess I'm so used to calling you Mrs Weasley." Hermione apologised.

Hermione quickly disappeared into the kitchen with Ginny hot on her heels. They quickly began putting away the groceries into their rightful places, neither of them saying anything.


	5. Chapter 5 - Letters of Doom

**_NOTE: I did not kill Sirius off_**

Chapter 5 – Letters of Doom

Molly had gathered everyone at the burrow to receive their letters from the Ministry. Sirius had insisted on being there too to support his godson. Everyone felt sick with nerves, even Fred and George who were usually full of happiness and hope were worried. They had found out that for the time being, Ron would be exempt from the marriage law until he makes a full recovery then he would be required to marry if he hasn't already met someone. However any relationship Ron did have in the future would be watched closely by the Ministry in case he abused them too. Molly and Arthur had voiced many a concern about the marriage law, especially to Kingsley whom they once classed as a close friend. Of course they won't the only people who had voiced their disgust about the law to Kingsley and other Ministry workers.

"I said to Kingsley that this is not a good idea on several occasions." Arthur stated, keeping his voice down. "I told him that everyone needs time to recover properly and the young people don't deserve to go through this."  
"And what did he say?" Molly asked.  
"That it needs to happen sooner rather than later." Arthur replied. "I wasn't the only one to voice their concerns to him."  
"They're all far too young to be getting married and having kids." Molly stated, her eyes filling up with tears. "Let them live a little first, have some fun, finish their education."  
"I know that Molly and I said that to Kingsley. They've all been through far too much, especially Harry. They need to just go back to being teenagers and young adults for a while." Arthur said.  
"Oh Arthur. This really is horrible. Our poor children." Molly cried, clinging onto Arthur's jumper as she cried.  
"I know love, it's not fair." Arthur replied.

******  
Everyone had gotten up early at the burrow and were sitting around the table, nervously waiting on their letters to arrive. You could have cut the tension with a knife and no one was speaking. Hermione pushed a piece of scrambled egg around her plate with her fork while Ginny stirred the last of her porridge with her spoon. Bill seemed calm, as he sat reading the late edition of The Daily Prophet. Fred and George kept watching the window while Fleur read a book on pregnancy. Harry managed to distract himself by reading the Daily Prophet.

"I wish they'd hurry up." George finally said.  
"I don't want to know." Ginny spoke.  
"They'll come soon enough." Bill said. "Maybe Fleur and I should leave now so we don't have to listen to you all rant and shout."  
"Bill you have to stay!" Ginny stated. "You're the best person at calming us all down."  
"Yeah, we need our big bro here for moral support." George said.  
"Of course I'll be staying." Bill said.  
"Good because if you even think of leaving we'll put a full body bind curse on you." Fred warned.

The waiting was unbearable. They moved from the kitchen into the living room so Molly could clean up the breakfast dishes. Hermione offered to help in the hope that doing some chores would kill some time and take her mind off the waiting. Ginny, Fred and George had begun playing a game of exploding snap to take their minds off it. They had just started the game when a dark grey owl appeared at the window in the living room, tapping it's beak on the glass.

"Oh no." Ginny gasped.  
"I'll go and get Hermione." Fred stated, jumping to his feet and running into the kitchen to get Hermione.

Hermione, Bill, Fleur and Fred dashed back into the living room to find George sorting out the letters from the owl.

"They're from the Ministry." George stated. "There's one for the five of us."

George handed Fred, Ginny, Harry and Hermione their letters.

"I don't want to open this." Ginny stated.  
"At least they're not howlers." Fred said. "That's what the Ministry will be getting a lot of today no doubt."  
"Look just get them opened, get it over and done with." Bill urged.  
"Easy for you to say, mate, you're already married to your beautiful wife." George answered.

A small smile appeared on Fleur's pretty face at George's comment. Then again Fleur knew she was beautiful and didn't exactly need people telling her.

"Right, I say we open them all together." Fred said. "After four."  
"1"  
"2"  
"3."  
"4"

The five of them quickly and carefully ripped open their letters and pulled out the sheets of crisp parchment. Their eyes scanned the letters quickly as they tried to find who their matches were.

"I got Harry! I got Harry!" Ginny shouted, jumping to her feet and punching the air then practically pounced on Harry to kiss him before he even had the chance to finish reading his letter.  
"That's brilliant Gin, I knew you'd get Harry." Hermione replied with a nervous tone in her voice.  
"Thank goodness for that." Bill laughed. "Just let the man breathe though."  
"Fred? George? Hermione?" Molly asked nervously.

Fred and Hermione exchanged looks but neither of them spoke.

"I got a girl called Laura Jones." George spoke up.  
"Who's she?" Ginny asked.  
"A Hufflepuff from our year at Hogwarts. She did play Quidditch at a time but quit due to a bad injury." George answered. "She's pretty good looking too."  
"Who did you two get?" Ginny asked, curiously.  
"I...I... got..."

"Me." Fred answered before Hermione could finish.  
"Wait, What?" Ginny questioned.  
"You two got paired?" George asked. "No way!"  
"Yes, I got Hermione." Fred stated.  
"I got Fred." Hermione added in shock.  
"That's not so bad. At least it's not Ron or someone like Draco." Ginny said. "Plus I'll finally get you as a sister in law."  
"At least you both know each other and actually seem to get on." Bill said.  
"Fred's not that bad, Mione." George said.  
"I know. I'm just shocked that's all." Hermione finally said.

Fred appeared to be pretty happy and had a small smile etched on his handsome face. He shuffled nervously over to Hermione and kneeled down in front of her.

"Look this might not be so bad after all, ok?" Fred spoke. "Remember what we spoke about the other day?"

Hermione looked up at into Fred's pools of blue then nodded her head. The others were completely confused but took this as their cue to leave Fred and Hermione alone so they could talk in private.

"I know and I'm sorry if I'm coming across as upset but it's just the whole shock of it all." Hermione replied.  
"I may not be your perfect guy in any shape or form but I will do everything I can to make you happy." Fred said. "I want us to at least be able to give this a go."  
"I don't really know if I have a perfect guy." Hermione admitted. "At least we know each other and I enjoy being around you and of course we had our little moment the other week."  
"Well that is a start. It could have been much, much worse. You could have got George." Fred joked. "And yes, I fondly remember our little kisses the other week."  
"Maybe this won't be so bad after all. I mean you did suggest proposing to me the other day so we would maybe get out of this but we don't have to worry about that now." Hermione said, trying to be more positive about the situation.  
"Well you already know how I feel about you and I'd be honoured to call you my wife. We can make this work, it will take time but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end." Fred said.

"What about George?" Hermione asked.  
"That Laura girl isn't too bad actually. She used to play quidditch but after a bad injury stopped playing. George used to think she was kinda cute." Fred replied. "Obviously I'm worried about him in case they don't get on."  
"I don't think I remember Laura." Hermione said.  
"She was a Hufflepuff in our year, a muggle-born I believe." Fred replied. "Long brown hair, blue eyes and from Northern Ireland."  
"I think I know who you're talking about now." Hermione said. "I'm so chuffed for Harry and Ginny. Harry deserves some happiness."  
"About time eh?" Fred replied back. "At least I trust Potter so I know he's good for my little sister."  
"Not that you have any say in the matter." Ginny stated, entering the living room with Harry in toe.

Molly followed Harry and Ginny into the living room to finally speak with her family. She didn't want to pounce on all of them straight away, wanting to let the news sink in first before she had her say.

"You'll finally be a part of the family, Harry and Hermione. Of course you always were a part of our family in my eyes." Molly chirped fulling Hermione and then Harry into a motherly hug.  
"Thank you Mrs Weasley." Hermione replied.  
"What do you think Mum, your prankster son having to marry Miss Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of the age?" George asked.  
"I think it's brilliant actually." Molly replied. "But Fred, you better not break her heart and you better look after her."  
"I think it'll be the other way around, Hermione will be the one to look after Fred." George chortled.  
"Who did you get again?" Molly asked George.  
"Laura Jones. She was a Hufflepuff in our year." George replied.  
"Is that good or bad?" Harry wondered.  
"Well I don't really know the girl but she is pretty good looking and she used to play quidditch but stopped before our NEWT year because of a bad injury." George replied.  
"I think I know the girl you mean. She was a chaser on the Hufflepuff team, long brown hair." Ginny said. "Was friends with Cedric."  
"That's the one. She's from Northern Ireland and a muggle-born I believe." George said. "I think she may have been the Hufflepuff prefect in our year too."  
"You should send her an owl. No doubt she'll want to hear from you." Ginny suggested.  
"Harry can I borrow Hedwig?" George asked.  
"Yeah sure, two seconds." Harry replied before dashing up to his room.

He returned moments later with Hedwig standing on his arm. George took the snowy, white owl from Harry then left the room to owl his match.

"He's taken it better than I thought he would." Fred said. "I thought he would have wanted Katie Bell."  
"He's maybe putting on a happy front but simmering underneath since you all are happy with your partners." Bill answered.  
"I'll speak to him later." Fred said.  
"Who did Percy get?" Bill wondered.  
"Penelope Clearwater." Molly replied. "He's over the moon."  
"Thank Merlin for that." Bill laughed.  
"And Charlie?" Fred wondered. "We all thought he'd be exempt.  
"A Diane Shaw." Molly replied. "So did we but obviously the Ministry thought different."  
"She was in his year and a Gryffindor." Bill replied.  
"He seems happy enough with her." Molly said. "At least he knows her."  
"She works in St Mungos in the bites ward." Bill stated. "She would have been a trainee when Dad was in."  
"Was that the young witch with blonde hair and glasses?" Molly wondered.  
"Yes that's her." Bill replied.

At first Charlie was exempt from the marriage law due to him living in Romania. However due to the lack of pure blood witches and wizards, the Ministry felt that it was important that he was included in the marriage law. Charlie wasn't too impressed when he first received his letter but knew that if he wanted to stay in the UK with his family, he'd have to go ahead with it. He never once thought about going back to Romania to avoid it as he knew his family needed him more than ever and he needed to support them during this tough time. His younger siblings also needed him too and Bill wanted him to be godfather to their baby.


	6. Chapter 6 - Coming to Terms

Chapter 6 – Coming to Terms

The letters had arrived and the matches had all been revealed. The occupants of the burrow were surprisingly happy, although Hermione was still a little shocked at being paired with Fred, but happy and relieved at the same time. It definitely would take a while for the news to sink in. Fred had not pushed the subject with Hermione and had given her some space for the rest of the afternoon while he and George worked on some products.

Ginny was over the moon at being paired with Harry and had a massive grin plastered on her face all day. Harry was over the moon too at being paired with Ginny but the thought of getting married so young scared him slightly. Seeing Ginny so happy did help ease the fear a little bit. George seemed to be fine with his match despite the fact he didn't really know the girl. Either that or George was putting on a brave face, especially as everyone else seemed happy. Ideally he would have liked to be paired with Katie Bell but he wasn't. He wasn't going to sit back and act like he didn't want to make an effort with the girl, so he sent her an owl.

 _"Hi Laura, its George Weasley here.  
You might not remember me from Hogwarts, ginger hair, twin to Fred Weasley, brother to Ron and Ginny, Gryffindor beater, prankster, co-owner of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes... but anyway enough about me and my talents. I guess we got paired in this marriage law that the Ministry have just brought out. Weird eh? I'm hoping you've got your letter by now or you'll be wondering what the hell I'm talking about, if not then this is weird. I know we don't really know each other but I thought we could maybe meet and go for a drink sometime. Send a reply back to me with Hedwig. George Weasley."_

He re-read over his messy handwriting several times then once happy with it, he attached the letter to Hedwig and sent her off. Then he went to join Fred in doing some shop planning.

"How's Hermione holding up?" George asked his twin.  
"I have no idea. It's worrying me slightly." Fred answered. "I seriously thought she'd be ok about it."  
"She could do far worse than you, you know." George spoke.  
"I know that and you know that but you can tell she doesn't want to marry me." Fred said, sadly.  
"What makes you think that?" George wondered.  
"I have no idea." Fred replied. "Maybe she's just in shock."  
"I think you two will make a lovely couple and you'll look after her and treat her right." George said. "And I'm not just saying that because you're my twin."  
"I just get the impression that I'm not good enough for her." Fred said.  
"Fred, you've got to remember what she's just went through with Ron. She thinks she's damaged goods and it's going to take her a while to trust a guy and that includes you. You've got to give her time." George said.  
"And I am willing to wait, wait as long as I need too but time is something we don't really have with this law thing. We've got to get married and have at least one kid in the next three years." Fred said. "But I will do whatever it takes to make Hermione happy."  
"I don't doubt that at all." George replied. "And if what you told me about what happened the other week between you two, then I think Hermione likes you a lot more than she's letting on."

"How are you holding up?" Fred asked.  
"Fine actually. I think it hasn't sunk in yet so maybe the shock hasn't hit me yet. I sent Laura an owl so I'm just waiting on a reply. I'm just hoping she's a nice person and that we get on." George replied.  
"Just turn on the old George Weasley charm and you'll be fine." Fred said.

Although Fred and Hermione had vowed to keep their little liaison quiet, Fred obviously told his twin about what had happened. George knew that something had happened between Fred and Hermione and wasn't going to stop pestering Fred until he revealed all. Fred was a little bit baffled about Hermione's reaction to the news she'd be marrying him but he understood that she had been through hell thanks to Ron and just needed time to heal mentally and physically. Fred would give her some time to get over the initial shock then he'd make an attempt to speak to her.

Hermione had disappeared outside to her favourite oak tree once again. This was where Hermione liked to go to clear her head and to think. Right now Hermione needed to do exactly that away from the noise of the burrow. Her favourite tree was peaceful with other the sound of the birds in the trees. She would be marrying Fred Weasley and she had to do it, whether she wanted to or not. She had no say in her future or who she would marry and have children with and she hated this.

Yes, she did like Fred a lot but this was a huge ask and a huge deal to Hermione. Hermione pulled her knees up to her chest and let the tears fall from her eyes as she tried in vain to come to terms with what was happening. A year ago she had set off on what seemed an impossible journey to find horcruxes, a task set to the trio by Dumbledore and now another hard journey lay ahead. How much more drama could Hermione take before she finally crumbled? How much more hell could people put her through before she cracked and decided to give up? Why the hell were the Ministry doing this to them after everything they had been through? What would her parents think?

Hermione's shock turned to anger. She wanted answers and being told that it was to protect magic blood was not a good enough answer for Hermione. Was this marriage law the reason why the Ministry couldn't find any leads in their search for her parents? Hermione was tempted to barge into the Ministry and give them a piece of her mind but she knew that it would be busy with people disgusted by their pairings and trying to fight for their rights.

She desperately needed to speak to Kingsley though to see what exactly was happening with the search for her parents but she knew if she came face to face with Kingsley that her anger would get the better of her and she'd loose it with him. Hermione really needed her parents more now than ever although she knew that they wouldn't understand about the marriage law.

Hermione's thoughts then turned to Fred. Was marrying Fred going to be that bad? She already fancied him and had already kissed him and she did enjoy spending time with him. She was thankful that she hadn't been paired with someone like Draco Malfoy. Could she really be happy with Fred? Yes, there was a potential for her to be happy with Fred. Fred had already proved how kind hearted he was towards her by sticking by her through all the Ron drama, always knowing how to make her feel better and listening to her when she needed someone to talk too. She felt safe around Fred and he always knew how to put a smile on her face.

Hermione's head was frazzled and she just wished she could for once have a normal life without any form of drama, where she could enjoy spending time with her friends and the summer before she headed back to Hogwarts in September. Of course living in the Wizarding world, a normal life wasn't possible. For Hermione, she hadn't had any normality in her life since she was 11 years old, before she attended Hogwarts. Then again Hermione wouldn't change some of her life for the world, such as the amazing friends she had made and the cool things she had learnt at Hogwarts.


	7. Chapter 7 - Love at First Sight

Chapter 7 – Love at first sight

George's stomach was filled with thousands of nervous butterflies as he waited on his date to arrive at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. This was the first time George would meet his partner he had been paired with for the marriage law. George had been a bit conflicted about his paring, part of him was happy enough but the other part of him was gutted he hadn't been paired with someone he knew and liked such as Katie Bell. He did know a little bit about Laura Jones from their time at Hogwarts and he had played quidditch against her as she once played for the Hufflepuff team.

Finally the brown haired girl appeared, walking up the alley way with another younger girl. George's first impressions were that she looked very pretty in a flower print sun dress, cream coloured shoes and a black cardigan. She had teamed her long brown hair with a pink hairband.

"You must be Laura." George said in a cheery voice.  
"I am indeed." Laura replied with a small smile.  
"Hello there. I'm George." George introduced, holding out his hand for Laura to shake.  
"It's lovely to meet you George." Laura replied.  
"Shall we go on inside?" George asked.  
"Yeah sure. I think we have a lot to talk about." Laura replied.

George led Laura into the pub and found them a table they could sit at in the corner of the room. It wasn't overly busy which both of them were glad about.

"Where do we start?" George asked in a nervous tone.  
"From the beginning I guess." Laura answered.  
"How about I get us a butterbeer first?" George offered.  
"That would be great, thank you." Laura replied.

George got to his feet and headed over to the bar to get them both drinks. Moments later he returned with two glasses of butterbeer.

"Thank you." Laura said, accepting hers.  
"So I guess we've been paired by the Ministry." George spoke, not beating about the bush.  
"Yeah. It was a bit of a shock when I got my letters." Laura answered. "I didn't think I would be included since I'm technically from Northern Ireland."  
"We thought that about my brother Charlie because he has lived in Romania and only came back over here to fight in the war." George said.  
"My sister got paired too but thankfully she got paired with a guy she is good friends with. She was three years below us at Hogwarts." Laura said.  
"How are you feeling about this marriage law then?" George asked Laura.  
"Despite the shock, I'm very annoyed by the fact we're being forced to marry. It's not fair at all and because my parents are muggles they don't understand it." Laura answered.  
"I think we're all feeling the exact same. My Dad works at the Ministry and has tried to talk some sense into Kingsley on numerous occasions." George said.  
"Why exactly are they doing this to us?" Laura wondered out loud.  
"The only answer we've gotten is that they want to protect magical blood." George answered. "Which is such a rubbish reason if you ask me."  
"They might end up spilling more magical blood if people decide to fight against it." Laura said.  
"I have a feeling the Ministry will have an uprising on their hands with people making a stand and yes you're right, more lives might end up being lost." George said. "Like if we don't agree to this they'll snap our wands and send us to Azkaban, surely that'll mean loss of magical blood too?"  
"Exactly. It makes you wonder if they've seriously thought about all of this and the affect it's going to have on all of us. My sister is only 17 for crying out loud and this means she'll have to be married and have at least one child with magical blood before she's 20." Laura ranted. "What happens if the couples end up having squibs too?"  
"I don't think they care about us at all because if they did, they wouldn't want to put us through more hell. Most of us have just came out of fighting in a war, we lost friends and family and should be focusing on rebuilding our lives and not worrying about planning weddings to someone we don't know or love." George ranted. "Who knows what would happen if the couples gave birth to squibs."

Despite the fact Laura and George didn't know one another, it appeared they were on the exact same wave length and had the same opinions on the marriage law. It was their ranting about the marriage law that appeared to break the ice between the couple and helped them fall into easy conversation.

"How is your sister taking the news?" George asked, showing some concern.  
"She's distraught about it all, even though she knows the guy really well and they get on." Laura answered. "Mum and Dad want us to do something about it because she's so young but I don't know what we can do."  
"You could always try and appeal against it." George suggested.  
"Wouldn't she be paired with someone else then?" Laura wondered.  
"Yes, she probably would. I don't know if you can appeal to be exempt from it completely." George said.  
"There's got to be some loophole in this, some way that we can stop this from happening to help people like my sister." Laura stated.  
"Hermione has already tried looking it up in her many books but hasn't found anything as yet. She's trying her best though to find some sort of a loophole." George said.

"How are your family doing?" Laura asked.  
"Bill is exempt because he's already married. Charlie seems happy enough but he's not one to sit back and wallow about things. Fred got paired with Hermione and Ginny got paired with Harry so she's over the moon of course." George replied. "Oh and Percy got paired with his girlfriend so that's all good."  
"What about you?" Laura asked.  
"Me? Honestly I'm fine. Shocked at first like everyone else but I'm sure we'll get along nicely." George answered with a smile. "I just wish we had more time, you know?"  
"Yeah. Don't we have to be married within a year and have at least child within three?" Laura wondered.  
"Something like that. A year isn't a very long time to get to know someone, well not properly." George said.  
"What do you think we should do?" Laura asked.  
"I guess we should make a start on getting to know one another properly." George answered. "I know the situation is not ideal for either of us but I grew up trying to see the light in the dark times and the best in a bad situation." George answered.  
"I suppose it could be much, much worse. I mean this time last year my sister and I went into hiding because we feared for our lives as muggle borns." Laura said.

"Where did you go too?" George asked.  
"My grandmother's house in Northern Ireland. One of my friends from Hogwarts, came over and helped put every protective spell known around the place as her parents are very skilled in protective spells. I became secret keeper for it." Laura explained.  
"Were you completely safe there?" George then asked.  
"Thankfully we were. Our house was never attacked nor was our grandmother's house we were hiding out in. It could have been because we were in Northern Ireland and not over here but we were very, very lucky." Laura replied.  
"You were very lucky indeed." George said.  
"I just wish I could have did more to help. We offered my friend and her family a safe house to stay in which is our family's holiday home at a local sea side town as her Mother is a muggle born witch, her father is half blood. Thankfully they were also kept safe but some weren't so lucky." Laura explained.  
"That was a very kind thing for you and your family to do." George said.  
"It was the least I could do. Another friend of mine who is also muggle born came to stay with us too while her family fled to America for the time being. They're all back together now though, safe and well." Laura said.  
"Wow. Imagine if someone had set up a safe house for all the muggle borns to live in, somewhere that was completely protected against death eaters. That would have been a brilliant idea." George said. "It could have been set up somewhere in Ireland or a completely different country. Many innocent lives could have been saved."  
"If only we could have thought about this sooner." Laura said with a defeated sigh. "My family would have jumped at the chance to help people."  
"My family could have helped too with the protection of it all." George said. "Hopefully you muggle borns won't ever need to do that again or go through what you all went through. Hermione has already said she'll be fighting for your rights from now on."  
"Hermione is an amazing witch. It would be brilliant to have someone like her as an ambassador for us muggle borns. It's also good to hear that not all pure bloods hate us." Laura said.  
"I was brought up to respect everyone whether they were pure blood, half blood or muggle born. Maybe not death eaters though." George replied.  
"When I told my Dad you were a pure blood wizard, he freaked out even more because he thought you'd hate me but I told him that you and your family weren't like that." Laura said. "I said that you were a very respectable wizarding family and that you were friends with a muggle born witch."  
"That was very kind of you, thank you." George replied.  
"I've always believed that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover or by their blood status." Laura stated.  
"And that is a very good statement to believe in." George agreed with a grin.


End file.
